Women and youth's socio-economic empowerment | Blogs Series: Agriculture, ICTs and Young Professionals

Women and youth's socio-economic empowerment.  Experiences from an ICT activist in Uganda

I am an ICT for Development practitioner who is actively engaged in promoting the issues of women and youth socio-economic empowerment through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Agricultural and Rural Development Programs; I have been engaged in ICT4Dev initiatives for four years. I am the Assistant Projects Officer at WOUGNET, a Non Governmental Organization initiated in May 2000 by several women Organizations in Uganda to promote and support the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as tools to share Information and address issues of sustainable national development collectively.

In Apac District, Northern Uganda, ICT infrastructures are still limited even though mobile telephone penetration in rural areas has been remarkably great. ICT awareness as well as skills for the rural youth, boys and girls and even the educated are still low. Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) launched a baseline survey early in 2004 and realized that lack of access, skills and awareness was still low yet ICTs could play a major role in improving agricultural productivity in the district.

The findings led to the introduction of a project called "Enhancing Access to Agricultural Information using ICTs" (EAAI)  with support from the Technical Center for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (ACP-EU-CTA) whose major focus is to improve agricultural information systems to the rural people including women, youth, young boys and girls using a variety of ICT  tools such as mobile phones, Community radio (Radio Apac) world space satellite radios, internet , audio and video recorders and the cameras among others.

This led to the setting up of a multi-dimensional information center called the Kubere Information Center (KIC) (www.kic.wougnet.org) offering development oriented information with emphasis in agricultural and rural development and access to ICTs; ICT training on basic computer packages are offered at this Center.

The Center also trains young women entrepreneurs on the use of ICTs to improve their businesses. The center further has a mini-studio established with support of UNESCO’S IPDC to support audio recordings of farmer’s queries and women concerns on governance issues and are later responded to by policy makers and stakeholders and disseminated via the Community Radio, Radio Apac.

 The Kubere Information Center in Apac with access to ICTs & agricultural information

Raising awareness on ICTs in agriculture and rural development has been organized in Apac district through a quarterly forum called "Lango Forum on e-Agriculture", targeting rural women, youth, policy makers and stakeholders. Participants are drawn from most of the districts in Northern Uganda. The Lango Forum on e- Agriculture has informed many WOUGNET developed briefing papers and has been significant in shaping the future of the ICT industry in Uganda and the region in particular .(www.wougnet.org )

(Moses Owini with participants during the Lango Forum on e-Agriculture & some training on mobile phones to young female farmers to learn how to send sms, access agricultural information, and to read and write text messages)

Women and girls as well as young boys, are trained on basic computer use and application, the use of mobile phones to access agricultural and health information materials for those who could not come to the KIC .In northern Uganda, young boys and girls are being sensitized about ICTs awareness and skills in schools. This has been a collaborative initiative of WOUGNET and the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). Since 2005 when the EAAI project was launched in Apac, it is now covering most districts in Northern Uganda such as Lira, Gulu, Oyam, Kole,Amuru and Amolatar  Districts. WOUGNET in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) set up another Information Center in Amuru District just like the one in Apac to serve the same purpose.

As a Projects Officer Assistant at WOUGNET, my work on agriculture, ICT and rural development has largely targeted the youth, women and the entire community. I use a lot of web 2.0 tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and sites as telecenter.org and blogs, to source for agricultural and ICT related information beneficial to youth and women and disseminate them through appropriate channels.

I am passionate about these things and look forward to using it to transform the lives of the youth and women. As a result of my work on ICT4Dev programs, I was selected to participate in this years’ Community Solutions Program, a professional training program for global community leaders working on selected thematic areas within their communities. Community Solution Program is a program of the US Department of States Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and Implemented by IREX . I look forward to gaining professional and practicum development which I intend to return and use for the benefits of my community.

Moses Owiny
Apac District,Northern Uganda
Skype: moses.owiny
 

Moses Owiny has experience in Project implementation, Monitoring & Evaluation, Participatory Rural Appraisal and Research, Community Mobilization and Rural Development Programs, using web 2.0 and social networks for purposes of sharing information and promoting issues of ICTs, agriculture and rural development.

Moses has recently been selected to participate as a fellow for the 2011-2012 Community Solutions Program, a professional training program for global Community Leaders funded by the U.S Department of State's Education and Cultural Bureau and implemented by IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board).